In refrigeration and freezing equipment such as an air-conditioner, a refrigerator and a Kimchi refrigerator, a cooling cycle is performed to generate cold air required for the interior of the equipment. According to the cooling cycle, the cold air is generated by heat exchange between air and a refrigerant flowing along a refrigerant path connecting a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator with one another.
An ice maker is a device for automatically making ice with the cold air supplied by the operation of the above cooling cycle. Accordingly, the ice maker is installed in a predetermined portion of the freezing/refrigeration equipment.
FIGS. 1a and 1b show the constitution of a conventional ice maker. The conventional ice maker will be described with reference to FIGS. 1a and 1b. 
As shown in the figures, the ice maker is fixed to an inner wall of a freezing chamber by using connecting brackets 2a, 2b which are formed to extend upwardly from an ice-making container 12. For example, the ice maker is fixed to the wall of the freezing chamber with fastening screws to be tightened through holes which are formed in the connecting brackets 2a, 2b. 
The ice maker is formed with the ice-making container 12 for containing ice-making water and then causing the water to be converted into a predetermined shape of ice. The ice-making container 12 has a cross section in the form of a half moon, and is formed of a material having good thermal conductivity, for example, aluminum. Supply of water to the ice-making container 12 is established through a water supply tube connector 4 provided at one side of the container.
An ice-releasing lever 14 is installed in an upper portion of the ice-making container 12. The ice-releasing lever 14 is constructed such that it can be rotated by a rotational force of a drive motor installed within a casing 20, in order to release ice from the ice-making container when the ice has been completely made in the ice-making container.
As can be seen from FIG. 1b, a heater 15 is installed in a lower portion of the ice-making container 12 for applying a small quantity of heat to the ice making container so that the completed ice can be separated from the ice-making container 12. Thus, if the ice making is completed by supplying the cold air into the ice-making container during a predetermined period of time, the heater 15 generates the heat so that the ice frozen to the ice-making container 12 can be detached from the ice-making container 12. The half-moon shaped ice detached as such is separated from the ice-making container 12 by rotation of the ice-releasing lever 14. The ice separated as such drops into an ice storage container (not shown) positioned below the ice-making container. At this time, a plurality of strippers 6 are installed on a front side of a top surface of the ice-making container 12 for preventing the separated ice from coming back into the ice-making container 12.
Before the ice is separated from the ice-making container 12, it is sensed by an ice-detecting lever 16 whether the ice storage container positioned below the ice-making container is filled up with the ice. The ice-detecting lever 16 serves to sense as to whether the ice storage container is filled up with the ice, while moving upward and downward within a predetermined range of angle by means of the motor installed within the casing 20.
The strippers 6 are formed to be a plurality of branches extending rearward from a top portion of a front plate 18 of the ice-making container. The ice-releasing lever 14 is designed to be capable of passing through between the adjacent branches of the strippers 6. The front plate 18 formed at a front face of the ice-making container 12 is shaped to extend downward by a predetermined length from a location at which the ice-making container 12 is positioned. This front plate 18 serves to prevent the ice collected in the ice storage container substantially below the ice-making container from coming into contact with the ice-making container 12.
Here, it has been described above that the ice maker itself is installed within the freezing chamber of the refrigerator. Further, the cold air supplied into the freezing chamber causes the water within the ice-making container 12 to be converted into the ice.
Therefore, if the cold air is supplied in a direction indicated by an arrow within the freezing chamber, it comes in contact with the ice-making container 12 while passing through the rear of the front plate 18. Thus, the ice-making container 12 can be cooled down and ice making is then carried out.
In addition, the heat is generated from the heater 15 during the ice-releasing process. In a case where the heater 15 is normally operated, the heat is first generated during a predetermined period of time. After the predetermined period of time when the ice within the ice-making container 12 is released from the ice-making container has elapsed, the heat generation should be stopped. However, if the heater 15 is not in the normal operating state, the heat may continue to be generated. Such a heat generation may have a fatal and adverse influence on the performance of the freezing chamber of the refrigerator.
Furthermore, the ice-releasing operation in the conventional ice maker is made by sensing a temperature of the ice-making container 12. Although it is not illustrated, the conventional ice maker is provided with a temperature sensing device for sensing the temperature of the ice-making container 12. After it is sensed on the basis of the temperature sensed by the temperature-sensing device whether the ice making has been completed, the ice-releasing operation is controlled. Therefore, turn-on/off operations of the heater are electrically controlled based on values sensed by the temperature-sensing device, whereby the ice-releasing operation is performed.
From the foregoing, it has been described that the conventional ice maker is provided with numerous electrical devices and is constructed such that the ice-making and ice-releasing operations are performed based on the sensed values and operations of the electrical devices. Accordingly, failure and malfunction of the electrical device and heat source constructed as such may have an adverse influence on the ice maker as well as even on the freezing chamber in which the ice maker is mounted.
As an example, in a case of the temperature sensing device, an operating error and failure rate thereof may greatly vary according to its unit price. If the temperature sensing device is shorted, there may be a case where the heater controlled to be turned on/off by the temperature sensing device is not normally operated. In particular, if the turn-off operation of the heater is not normally controlled due to a failure of the temperature sensing device, the amount of heat generated from the heater has an influence even on foods stored in the freezing chamber, and the stored foods are consequently deteriorated.
However, the conventional ice maker constructed as such has no means for confirming as to whether the above components thereof are normally operated. Thus, there has been a problem in that when the conventional ice maker is actually mounted and employed in the freezing and refrigeration equipment, it is difficult to confirm as to whether the ice maker is normally operated, and it is particularly difficult to regulate the amount of water which should be supplied to the ice-making container.
Moreover, since there is not provided a function of testing the ice maker, it is difficult to determine which component of the ice-maker causes any relevant failure. Thus, there has been another problem in that good service on the ice maker cannot be provided.